Florida Keys Audubon Society executive director (and fellow Keys Weekly writer) Mark Hedden spoke at a current Marathon Rotary Club conference. The subject? Peregrine falcons, their healing as a types and the significance of the Middle Keys to their migratory journey. Mark is an amusing and helpful speaker, not to be missed out on if you get the opportunity. It got Sarah and me believing — Mark understands birds, I understand music. Let’s check out where the 2 fulfill in tune!
Let’s take it as a considered that some bird tunes are fantastic; some, not a lot. Perhaps the tune that many exhibits a relatively dreadful tune that verges on success is “Surfin’ Bird” by the Trashmen from 1963. The just take-away from that is just, “The bird is the word.”
In a comparable vein, the tune (and dance) referred to as “The Bird” from Morris Day and the Time hasn’t a little bit of extensive in it, yet is fantastic enjoyable. Released in Prince’s Purple Rain film in 1984, this tune provided Morris Day his genuine star turn.
Another bird tune from that film does increase to success: “When Doves Cry” by the Purple One himself. Prince played all the instruments and sang all the vocals, and — abnormally for an R&B tune at the time — the tune had no bass part. It didn’t appear to matter much, as the tune invested 5 weeks at #1 and was the greatest selling single of 1984.
A tune we heard method excessive of recently was the Steve Miller Band’s “Fly Like an Eagle” (1976). It’s a truly good tune that never ever disappeared, thanks to constant repeating by timeless rock radio stations.
“The Eagle and the Hawk” by John Denver (1971) is most likely the bird tune most completely about birds in this lot. Denver’s 12-string guitar ultimately becomes an orchestral piece commemorating these raptors and their flights over the Rocky Mountains.
Lovers of calypso will keep in mind “Yellow Bird.” The most popular recording was Arthur Lyman’s variation, launched in 1961. Moving along…
Right up there with the yellow bird is the 1957 Bobby Day hit, “Rockin’ Robin.” Redone by the Jackson 5 in the 1970s, it’s the only tune that ever got anybody singing, “Tweedle-e-deedle-e-deet.”
Carly Simon and James Taylor’s duet “Mockingbird” took a nursery rhyme and turned it into a huge 1974 hit. Sarah and I try to sing this tune every now and then (securely at home), however it frequently collapses midway through due to the fact that she won’t remain in her lane.
Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds” (1977) is frequently called “Don’t Worry.” But it’s the birds that pass along their “message to you” that “every little thing’s gonna be alright.”
The Beatles’ “Blackbird” (mainly solo Paul, 1968) was influenced by both the call of the blackbird and the battle for civil liberties for African American ladies in the late 1960s in America.
The enduring Beatles reunited in 1994 to tape-record 2 brand-new (mainly) John Lennon tunes. One of these was the appropriately entitled “Free as a Bird.” This tune integrated John’s vocal and piano from a cassette demonstration with brand-new studio tracks from Paul, George and Ringo. ELO’s Jeff Lynne produced, and the outcome was a hit for the Beatles thirty years after their Ed Sullivan launching.
“Free Bird.” The less said about this one, the much better.
There are more, and there are more than a couple of groups that have birds in their group name. While this little workout has actually been enjoyable, the Florida Keys Audubon Society does major work right here in our islands. In the Middle Keys at Curry Hammock State Park, they arrange Florida Keys Hawk Watch, the southernmost hawk counting website in the continental United States. They do great safeguarding and informing us about our feathered good friends, and we are lucky to have them here. For more details, go to keysaudubon.org or floridakeyshawkwatch.com.
